(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Plasma Display Panel (PDP). More particularly, the present invention relates to a PDP in which exhaust efficiency can be enhanced and noise of the PDP can be reduced.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A three-electrode surface-discharge type is one structure of a PDP, and will be described as an example. The PDP includes sustain electrodes, scan electrodes, and address electrodes. The sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes are disposed in parallel on the same plane of a front substrate, and the address electrodes are provided on a rear substrate, in a direction crossing the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes. Barrier ribs are provided between the front substrate and the rear substrate, i.e., between a side of the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes and a side of the address electrodes. Discharge cells are formed between the barrier ribs at portions where the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes that are disposed in parallel cross the address electrodes, discharge spaces are formed in the discharge cells, and the discharge spaces are filled with a discharge gas.
The PDP selects a turn-on discharge cell through an address discharge by a scan pulse applied to the scan electrodes and an address pulse applied to the address electrodes, and implements images through a sustain discharge by a sustain pulse alternately applied to sustain electrodes and scan electrodes of the selected turn-on discharge cell. Each line of the scan electrodes and the address electrodes is controlled independently.
The sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes of the PDP are provided at the front of the discharge spaces. Hence, the PDP generates a plasma discharge between the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes and diffuses the plasma discharge toward the rear substrate, and the plasma discharge excites phosphors within the discharge cells to generate visible rays. The sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes provided in the front substrate reduce the aperture ratio of the discharge cells and lower the transmittance of the visible rays, which are generated within the discharge cells and directed toward the front substrate. Therefore, the three-electrode surface-discharge type of PDP has low brightness and low luminous efficiency.
If the PDP is used for a long period, an electric field causes charged particles of the discharge gas to generate ion sputtering in the phosphors. The ion sputtering in the phosphors may result in permanent after-images.
As an attempt to eliminate the generation of the permanent images, a recently developed PDP is configured such that the sustain electrodes and the scan electrodes encompass the lateral sides of the discharge spaces, and the address electrodes are provided in the rear substrate. As a result, the aperture ratio of the discharge cells can be increased, and the transmittance of the visible rays can be improved.
The PDP has a frit region at an outside portion of a dummy cell provided between the front substrate and the rear substrate. A frit applied in the frit region serves to seal the front substrate and the rear substrate to each other. In other words, the front substrate is aligned on the rear substrate on the basis of the frit applied in the frit region of the rear substrate, and the front substrate and the rear substrate are then attached to each other.
In the PDP, a dielectric sheet encompassing the sustain and scan electrodes and forming discharge spaces is adhered closely to the front substrate, thereby lowering exhaust efficiency. In addition, weak adhesion between the dielectric sheet and the front substrate causes generation of a noise of the PDP.